Annual Report Minnetonka Public Schools
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2017 ANNUAL REPORT MINNETONKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS A letter from the Superintendent We strive to keep members of our great community informed about their schools, including the many successes of our students and the challenges the District faces. This annual report is intended to consolidate the highlights for easy reference, to show you how well your tax dollars are being used and how your incredible support is being rewarded. 2016-17 has been another incredibly successful year! The performance of our students keeps reaching new heights each year. There seems to be no limit to what they can do. For example, the average ACT Composite score reached a new height at 27.5. The average Minnetonka 15-year-old out performs the average student in every country in the world in Math, Reading and Science by a significant margin. We have moved from having our first National AP Scholar 13 years ago to 58 this year. The SAT average reached a new all-time high for Minnetonka. The average fifth grader scores above the national average of “Beyond Eleventh Grade.” And, the number of students taking rigorous high school courses has skyrocketed. Innovations continue to provide fuel for even higher achievement in the future. Minnetonka Research, Navigator, Tonka Online, VANTAGE, Spanish and Chinese Immersion and Coding are just some of the programs enabling high success. All of these academic achievement levels reflect a far greater economic impact by our students on the future of our country. Our students are thriving in many areas of our program that are not measured by national tests. The support of this wonderful community enables all of this success. Thank you! Respectfully, Dr. Dennis L. Peterson 2 INNOVATE. INSPIRE. EXCEL. 2017-18 District Goals Each year, the Minnetonka School Board adopts specific goals to ensure long-term educational excellence for all students. GOAL Student Well-Being #1 The well-being of students is a priority for families and the District. In 2017-18, the District will create and implement a plan that supports parents’ desires to have their students be socially and emotionally strong and provides the appropriate level of support to students for their academic, social and emotional well-being. This plan will be presented to the Board by April 15, 2018. GOAL Workforce of Tomorrow #2 Over the course of five years, the District will complete and implement a plan that assures an on-going supply of outstanding teachers, administrators and support staff to serve students throughout their years in the District. Year one of this five-year goal will focus on identification of the resources required. The articulation of these resources will be presented to the Board by June 1, 2018. GOAL Deep Implementation of Strategic Programs #3 Ensure deep systemic implementation of recently launched strategic programs to ensure that Minnetonka commitments to student achievement and experience, as well as instructional framework and content, are successfully accomplished. The programs will be holistically reviewed utilizing the adopted School Board Innovation Criteria no later than May 1, 2018. The programs include Pathways, Tonka Online, Science Research, Immersion and Tonka Codes. GOAL Expand Experiential and Inquiry-Based Learning #4 The District will provide a broad array of experiential and inquiry-based learning opportunities for E-12 students to enable them to strengthen their learning, increase their interest and enhance their motivation for learning. The goal for 2017-18 is to identify a roadmap for incorporating experiential and inquiry-based learning throughout the system. A report will be made to the Board by May 1, 2018 to identify and detail a plan/roadmap. District Vision Defining the direction in which to lead the Minnetonka Public School District is the duty of the School Board, as elected representatives of the District. Their hard work in crafting that vision and fostering its fulfillment ensures the legacy of excellent teaching, exceptional student achievement, and outstanding fiscal management will continue. Please download a copy of the School Board’s Our Vision for the Future that defines our District's commitment to world-class, child-centered education for every student at www.minnetonkaschools.org/vision. Pam Langseth Lisa Wagner Heidi Garcia John Holcomb Mark Ambrosen Katie Becker Lisa Sumner School Board Chair School Board Vice Chair School Board Clerk School Board Treasurer School Board Director School Board Director School Board Director 3 MINNETONKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACT® Achievement The ACT Test is used by colleges and universities as a reliable and consistent measure of academic preparedness. For high school students, an ACT score is a key to opportunity, influencing college admissions, scholarships and more. Congratulations to the 9 Minnetonka High School Class of 2018 students, at right, who earned a top score of 36 on their ACT exam. In 2017, there are only 79 students in Minnesota with this score. There are also 22 students with a score of 35 and 27 students with a Saahil Chadha Alexander Ewald Hanna Gimse score of 34, in the Minnetonka School District. The average ACT Composite score for the Class of 2017 reached a new height at 27.5. The chart, below, 36.0 shows the steady progress District students have made nine students from the Class of 2018 over the last several years as a result of intentional have earned this focus on providing Minnetonka students a world-class top score education. 28 27.5 Natalie Lowry Julia Luehr 26.9 27 26.7 26.5 26.3 26 25.7 25.6 25.5 25.3 25 24.6 Aberdeen Morrow Benjamin Olson 24 23.1 23 22 2001 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Elena Romashkova Andrew Walker 33.8 32.4 29.8 the average ACT score the average ACT score the average ACT score for the Top 100 for the Top 200 for the Top 400 students students students 4 INNOVATE. INSPIRE. EXCEL. National Merit Semifinalists IB Diploma Graduates Congratulations to Minnetonka's 17 National Merit Semifinalists and Congratulations! These students 31 Commended students from the Class of 2018! in the Class of 2017 earned the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: David Allen Maren Beauchamp Patrick Brady Lauren Brown Matthew Burg Greta Cutts Hannah Dillahunt Miles Irmer Back row, l-r: Principal Jeff Erickson, Evelyn Armstrong, Alexander Ewald, Oliver Calder, Will Murphy Vossberg, Joseph Melander, Zachary Ambrosen, Saahil Chadha and Derrick Loke. Sether Johnson Front row, l-r: Andrew Walker, Adalee Gill, Hanna Gimse, Amanda Tahnk-Johnson, Sunhyoung Bang, Elena Romashkova, Aberdeen Morrow and Luke Bunday (not pictured, Wyatt Singh). Emily Kasprick International Leaders Gabriel Kopendakha Top-ranked in reading, science and math on the world stage Jessica Larsen The results of the 2017 OECD test for American fifteen year-old students have been released along with comparisons with other countries using the comparable PISA test. Amazingly, if Phoebe Limond Minnetonka were a country, it would rank number one in Math, Reading and Science when Parker Magid compared with top performing countries around the world. The results are shown in the graphic below. Sydney Maxwell This year, Chinese administrators chose their students from a group of cities and regions Mari Mazarguil* named B-S-J-G, after Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Shanghai. Previously, Chinese authorities had chosen Shanghai as mainland China’s sole representative, whose students Jessica Morris finished at the top of all three subject areas in both the previous two PISA studies in 2012 and Keara Murphy 2009. Furthermore, the sampling done on mainland China (Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong and Shanghai) and other cities was taken from the very best schools, and the very best students Lauren Otolski were “cherry-picked” from those schools. Rithvich Ramesh READING MATH SCIENCE Mia Rogneby Minnetonka 542 minnetonka 584 Minnetonka 565 Singapore 535 Singapore 564 Singapore 556 Max Rosen Hong Kong 527 hong kong 548 Japan 538 Canada 527 Japan 532 Finland 531 Margaux Vereecken Finland 526 B-S-J-G (China)* 531 Canada 528 korea 517 korea 524 Hong Kong 523 japan 516 canada 516 b-s-j-g (China)* 518 *IB Bilingual Diploma Germany 509 finland 511 Korea 516 australia 503 Germany 506 australia 510 United Kingdom 498 australia 494 Germany 509 United States 497 United Kingdom 492 United Kingdom 509 B-S-J-G (China)* 494 United States 470 United States 496 Brazil 407 Brazil 377 Brazil 401 *B-S-J-G (China) - Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong 5 MINNETONKA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Advanced Placement Scholars The following students from the 2017-2020 graduating classes have earned an Advanced Placement Scholar designation as of spring 2017. NATIONAL AP AP SCHOLARS AP SCHOLARS AP SCHOLARS SCHOLARS WITH DISTINCTION WITH HONOR Granted to students who receive Granted to students who receive Granted to students who receive Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on 3 or more an average score of at least 4.0 on an average score of at least 3.5 on an average score of at least 3.25 on AP exams. all AP exams taken, and scores of all AP exams taken and scores of all AP exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on 8 or more exams. 3 or higher on 5 or more exams. 3 or higher on 4 or more exams. NATIONAL AP Benjamin Helgeson Natalie Esh Madelyn Smerillo Katelyn Lannom Susan Foster SCHOLARS Owen Heupel Emily Fahlsing* Carter Smiley Hugo Ligthart Meili Gong Elliot Heyman Desmond Fung Katherine Su Alexis McGrath Connor Hansen CLASS OF 2017 Derrick Loke Hannah Gerton Tillian Teske Peter McLinn Annika Hendrickson